ReZoom

If you come down to the river
Bet you gonna find some people who live
You don't have to worry, ‘cause you have no money
People on the river are happy to give
– Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Proud Mary"

One of the South's most successful commercial photographers for more than 30 years, John Guider had it all. Between demanding clients and looming deadlines, Guider focused his lens on beautiful models, sometimes turning his keen eye on celebrities like Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Rodney Crowell at his busy studio in Nashville, Tenn. Still, something was missing.

"I was tired of the same shots of models and products," Guider said. "As things started going digital, rather than learn a new way to do photography, I just made the decision to go out on my own."

Having raised his family and turned his back on commercial photography, Guider found a renewed passion for his artistic possibilities.

"For those 30 years I always had my hand in the arts," explained Guider. "I just hadn't been able to concentrate on it fully."

Every artist needs inspiration, and Guider found that his muse was not only beautiful and mysterious but dark and dangerous as well. Inspired by Peter Jenkins' best seller, "A Walk Across America," Guider decided to photograph the people, towns and landscapes along the Mississippi River – from the modest confines of his canoe.

"There was a strong romantic notion about getting up one morning, going out the back door, hopping in my canoe for three months and seeing America in real time," he said.

Although only a novice paddler, Guider cast off one early summer morning in a 16-foot canoe packed with 400 pounds of supplies and camera equipment. His journey took him 1200 miles, from the small creek that ran through his farm property, over the Harpeth, Cumberland, Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

As soon as he'd begun, the dangerous nature of his journey became apparent.

"I ran into a pair of the two biggest Cottonmouths I've ever seen in my life," he said with an uncharacteristic hint of urgency. Electrical storms, high winds, waves, whirlpools and river traffic all dogged his journey. Guider lost 30 pounds in the process of doing little more than staying alive.

"By the time I was on the Mississippi, it was totally a survival game," Guider explained. "Every day I had to ask myself ‘Do you want to live or die?' I answered that I wanted to live, and you do what you have to do in order to survive."

Three months after he set out on his adventure, Guider hooked up with his wife in New Orleans. He had more than 10,000 images of the people and places he had seen along the way. Even more than the journey itself, it was the people Guider so lovingly documented in his photographs that taught him the most valuable lessons of all.

"It's easy to be cynical or distrustful," he said, "but when you present yourself vulnerably you find that people respond in a positive, generous way. It opens your eyes and makes you appreciate the human race."

Guider is currently planning a museum exhibit of his river photos for 2008. Find out more at www.johnguider.com.